Google Removes 100,000 Links after the Right to be Forgotten Ruling

According to The Wall Street Journal, Google has removed over 100,000 links since the “right to be forgotten” ruling of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) came into effect in May.

The figure came out just a day after Google, along with Yahoo and Microsoft, met with European data regulators for discussing the search engines' handling of the ruling. The report also claims that Google has removed a majority of such requests, a number that could even exceed the 100,000 mark.

Google has not confirmed the number yet but has reportedly mentioned during the meeting in Brussels that it has rejected around 30 percent of the requests received. The Wall Street Journal has reported that over 50 percent of requests have been approved by the firm.

Reportedly, requests have come from 91,000 individuals and they cover over 328,000 URLs. The report also added that so far not all requests have been processed. Out of these requests, 17,500 were from France, 16,500 came from Germany and 12,000 from the United Kingdom. The source also added that 8,000 requests were from Spain, 7,500 came from Italy and 5,000 were from the Netherlands.

While reportedly Google having removed over 50 percent of links is likely to ease regulators' concerns, it will probably go down well with free-speech advocates.

The executive director of the UK Society of Editors, Bob Satchwell, executive was not pleased. He told The Wall Street Journal it will creep if you let this go without protest. He also mentioned “"This passion for privacy will creep into law across Europe and erode the freedom of speech."

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Ritu from PageTraffic is a qualified Google Adwords Professional and Content Head at PageTraffic. She has been the spear head for many successful Search Marketing Campaigns and currently oversees Content Marketing operations of PageTraffic in India.

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